新冠疫情期間，數百萬菲律賓人失去工作，很多人被迫「以物易物」，用最古老的辦法填飽肚子。人們不惜把家電、玩具甚至是名牌包拿來交換食物，比如一雙鞋可以換一整隻加工好的雞，一件衣服可以換幾斤大米。
菲律賓尼諾伊·阿基諾國際機場 [Photo/Agencies]
Struggling to make ends meet, Lorraine Imperio swapped a pair of Nike slip-on shoes for a whole dressed chicken on an online bartering site, one of dozens that have sprouted up during the Philippines' virus lockdowns.
為了維持生計，洛林·因佩裡奧在一個易貨網站上用一雙耐克便鞋換了一整隻加工好的雞，這個網站是菲律賓疫情封鎖期間出現的幾十個易貨網站之一。
With millions stripped of their jobs and many forced to stay home to slow the coronavirus spread, Filipinos have flocked to Facebook groups to exchange their possessions, including kitchen appliances, children's toys and designer handbags -- mostly for food.
由於數百萬人失去了工作，許多人被迫呆在家裡以減緩新冠病毒的傳播，菲律賓人紛紛湧向臉書群組，用他們的廚房電器、兒童玩具和名牌手袋等財物做交換，其中大部分用來換取食物。
"It's so difficult nowadays. You don't know where you'll get the money to settle the bills for groceries," said Imperio, a mother of two whose husband works part-time at a doughnut shop in Manila.
因佩裡奧是兩個孩子的母親，她的丈夫在馬尼拉一家油炸圈餅店做兼職。她說：「現在太難了。你不知道從哪兒能弄到錢去買百貨。」
His hours have been slashed because of the pandemic and he now only earns about 9,000 pesos a month, half of which is used to pay the rent for the family's apartment.
由於新冠疫情，因佩裡奧丈夫的工作時間減少了，現在他的月薪只有大約9000比索（約合人民幣1267元），其中一半用來支付家庭公寓的租金。
Online bartering groups have provided a lifeline to the Imperios and other Filipinos hit hard by the country's months-long virus restrictions that started in March and have sent the economy plunging into a deep recession.
網上易貨群組為因佩裡奧一家和其他菲律賓人帶來了希望。菲律賓從三月開始實行長達數月的疫情限制措施，令民眾生活受到影響，也令經濟陷入嚴重衰退。
At least 98 groups, some with tens of thousands of members, are operating across the archipelago, according to an AFP tally.
據法新社統計，整個菲律賓至少有98個易貨群組，其中一些有數萬名成員。
菲律賓馬尼拉醫護人員在進行核酸檢測 [Photo/Agencies]
Nearly all of them started during the pandemic as many Filipinos resorted to the ancient trading practice to feed their families.
幾乎所有的易貨群組都是在疫情期間出現的，許多菲律賓人用古老的交易方式來養活家人。
Google search volume in the Philippines for the keywords "barter food" soared 300 percent in May from April, iPrice Group found in a recent study, as lockdowns squeezed household budgets and made travelling about difficult.
網購數據分析網站iPrice Group近日通過調查發現，在菲律賓，谷歌搜索關鍵詞「易貨食品」的搜索量5月份比4月份增長了300%，原因是封鎖令家庭預算吃緊，出行困難。
Its analysis of 85 popular Facebook barter groups, with more than two million members in total, found food and other groceries were among the most sought-after items.
該網站對臉書上85個熱門易貨群組進行了分析，發現食品和其他百貨是最受歡迎的商品。這些易貨群組共有200多萬名成員。
People post photos and specifications of the goods they want to swap, indicate what they want in return and then negotiate via the comments section.
人們發布他們想要交換的商品的照片和詳細描述，說明他們想要換取的物品，然後通過評論區協商。
After successfully bartering baby bottles that she no longer needed, Imperio swapped a baby's down jacket and a Ralph Lauren hoodie for six kilogrammes of rice.
在成功地用她不再需要的奶瓶進行交換後，因佩裡奧還用一件嬰兒的羽絨服和一件拉夫·勞倫的連帽衫換了6公斤大米。
down jacket [daʊn ˈdʒækɪt]：羽絨服
菲律賓尼諾伊·阿基諾國際機場 [Photo/Agencies]
While the Nike slip-on shoes were traded for a chicken, a second pair has not had any takers after three weeks.
雖然那雙耐克便鞋換到了一隻雞，但第二雙耐克便鞋的信息掛了三周，依然無人問津。
"Old items are more difficult to sell," the 28-year-old said. "With bartering, it's easier to convert them into food."
28歲的因佩裡奧說：「舊物品更難賣。通過物物交換，更容易用舊貨換食物。」
Jocelle Batapa Sigue launched Bacolod Barter Community four months ago out of frustration at not being able to go shopping and a desire to help others.
四個月前，出於無法購物的沮喪和幫助他人的願望，喬瑟·巴塔帕·斯古創立了巴科洛德易貨社區。
Her husband held the family's only quarantine travel pass, which people were required to carry when they left their homes during the lockdown.
她的丈夫持有她們家唯一的一張檢疫通行證，這是在封鎖期間人們離開家時必須攜帶的證件。
"It's difficult for me to get what I want when I tell my husband to buy it," said Sigue, who is a lawyer in the central city of Bacolod.
斯古是菲律賓中部城市巴科洛德的一名律師，她說：「讓我丈夫把我想要的東西買回來是件難事。」
The group has more than 230,000 members with more joining every day, she said.
她說，這個群組已經有超過23萬名成員，而且每天都有更多的人加入。
Sigue estimates thousands of items -- from shampoo and birthday cakes to mobile phones and eyeliner -- change hands on her site daily.
斯古估計每天有成千上萬的商品在她的網站上易手，包括洗髮水、生日蛋糕、手機和眼線筆等。
"Without the pandemic, I don't think the barter community would be popular," she said.
她說：「如果沒有新冠疫情，我覺得易貨社區不會這麼受歡迎。」
An estimated 5.2 million Filipino families had experienced "hunger due to lack of food to eat" at least once in the previous three months -- the highest in nearly six years, a survey in early July by pollster Social Weather Stations showed.
菲律賓民調機構「社會氣象站」7月初的一項調查顯示，大約520萬菲律賓家庭在過去3個月至少有過一次「因為缺乏食物而挨餓」的經歷，創下近6年來最高紀錄。
But it is not just cash-strapped people bartering their belongings.
但參與以物易物的不僅僅是缺錢的人們。
Others are taking the chance to dispose of goods they no longer need after quarantine measures upended normal life.
在檢疫措施顛覆了正常生活後，其他人則抓住這個機會處理掉他們不再需要的物品。
Chona de Vega, 57, traded her hair-straighter and electric kettle for a bag of groceries and now plans to dispose of her iron.
57歲的喬納·德維加用她的直發器和電水壺換了一袋百貨，現在她打算處理掉熨鬥。
"I have no use for it," said de Vega, who lives in Manila and spends most of her time at home because of travel restrictions.
「熨鬥對我沒用了，」德維加說。她住在馬尼拉，由於出行限制，大部分時間都呆在家裡。
Charles Ramirez, who runs a 14,000-member bartering site in the capital, said a "big percentage" of his group live in poverty and mostly ask for groceries.
查爾斯·拉米雷斯在馬尼拉經營著一個有1.4萬名會員的易貨網站，他說他的群組中有「很大一部分人」生活在貧困之中，他們大多要求交換百貨。
"People are realising that while they have no money, they have accumulated a lot of material things (they can swap)," said Ramirez, who set up his group in May after losing his job as a grocery wholesaler.
拉米雷斯說：「人們意識到，雖然他們沒有錢，但他們積累了很多（可以交換的）物品。」他在失去了百貨批發商的工作後，於今年5月成立了自己的易貨群組。
"It's a depressing feeling, of course, having to let go of things you have accumulated just to be able to survive."
「當然，這是一種令人沮喪的感覺，為了生存而不得不放棄你攢下來的東西。」
英文來源：法新社
編輯：許雅寧
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